What Happens If the F-35 Is a Failure

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is one of the largest—if not the largest—multinational defense program of all time. Thousands of F-35s are slated to join the air forces of 12 nations, forming a backbone of tactical airpower for the next 30 years. The sheer scope of the project, including 2,400 planes for the U.S. military alone and an overall estimated lifetime cost of $1.5 trillion, has observers labeling the project "too big to fail."

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But what if it does?

An article at The National Interest addresses the question, listing alternatives for each service branch that's in line to buy the F-35. The next generation in American fighters, the U.S. Navy's F/A-XX and the Air Force's F-X, aren't due until the early 2030s, meaning the military would have to come up with some new planes, and fast. That means buying existing aircraft.

The U.S. Air Force would likely restart the F-22 production line. The key tooling to make Raptors is in storage and many subcomponents haven't been built for years, plus USAF recently refuted rumors it would make more F-22s. But, desperate times.

F/A-18

The U.S. Navy, meanwhile, probably would buy more F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and a new unmanned strike aircraft. As for the Marines, again the Super Hornet would step in to fill the gap. However, the Super Hornet would not satisfy the Marines' requirement for 340 vertical takeoff and landing fighters, meaning that the U.S. Navy's Wasp and America-class amphibious assault ships would sail without fighters.

America's allies would be left scrambling for a plan B, too. They could go the Super Hornet route or buy European, with Eurofighter, Dassault, and Saab still producing viable alternatives.